Segway fan club disbands, tries to pick up the pieces

In a stroke of continued bad luck for the 22 remaining Segway supporters around the globe, one of the personal transporter's largest fan organizations, the Segway Enthusiasts Group of America (or SEG), has decided to disband. Group treasurer Fred Kaplan says that inactivity and absence of candidates for its board of directors contributed to the decision, though he also blames Segway Inc. itself, alleging the company refused to share its customer list with the fan club, which led to dwindling numbers. "We had a list that was essentially three years old," Kaplan said, though Segway reps claim they have been otherwise supportive. The company says that the group's demise is not representative of transporter sales, which they report are up 50 percent since 2002. Segway spokeswoman Carla Vallone went on to add that the company is considering launching its own corporate fan club to replace SEG, and then snidely promised that its email list would be "totally up-to-date."